One of the better generic clones to be spawned out of the monstrous Labyrinth fallout, Italy's Shining Fury were born from the ashes of Prog/Power Metallers Athena, whose vocalist Francesco Neretti and skin-blaster Ross Lukather found solace in the band's dissolution by forming this rather charming quintet. Naturally similar in style, Shining Fury employ a fast, celeritous Power Metal assault, heavy on the keyboards and guitar harmonies, formulating a sugary, tight-fitting set of songs based on the Labyrinth, Vision Divine, and Athena principle. Neretti's piercing vocals are primarily trapped in the upper octaves, but they carry the melodies flawlessly, and with an undiluted, emotional panache.

Despite being exceedingly formulaic, Last Sunrise holds your attention with subtle variation in song structures, raging from the overly familiar ("Sleepin' Coma", "Broken Hopes") to hard-hitting progression ("Declaration of a Cheat", "Snake's Game"). The production is solid, if not a little dry, and it is definitely worth more listens than many of the steaming piles their country has produced. Yet, in spite of the turgid Toto cover, Last Sunrise is a worthy contender to the lost Labyrinth throne. Who'd a thought it?